Human rights defenders

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where 25-year-old Jatupat Boonyapatraksa is continuing his hunger strike at Phu Khiao District Prison, Chaiyaphum province to protest against the country’s broken justice system. Jatupat was arrested on August 6 for distributing anti constitution flyers. The Resistant Citizen group have invited ordinary Thai people to write post cards […]

On 7 August 2016, Thailand held a referendum to decide upon the country’s new constitution, as drafted by the military. Preliminary results indicate that 62 percent voted in favour of the constitution, while a majority also agreed that a military nominated Senate should be allowed to select the Prime Minister together with the House of […]

National Minorities Day is annually commemorated on August 11, in remembrance of the 1947 landmark speech of Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, envisaging that citizens of all faiths will be treated equally in the new nation: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your […]

This week Just Asia begins with the senseless and brutal attack on lawyers in Quetta, Balochistan on August 8. The blast killed 97 persons, including 63 lawyers, and more than 120 persons including women and children were injured. The attack occurred amidst a gathering to pay respects to the assassinated President of the Bar Association. […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Commission for the Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS) regarding criminal defamation charges against its coordinator Mr. Haris Azhar. Haris received and shared information from death row inmate Mr. Freddy Budiman regarding the alleged involvement of high ranking police and military personnel […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that a human rights defender in Bataan, Philippines was killed by unidentified men in front of her relatives. Last year, due to the victim’s resistance to an open coal storage, she was threatened and intimidated by the storage company.  CASE DETAILS: (Based […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins everyone who is shocked and dismayed by the senseless and brutal attack on civilians in Quetta, Balochistan on Aug 8, 2016. According to the leaders of the Balochistan Bar Association, the attack has killed 97 persons which includes 63 lawyers, and two journalists, the photographer of Dawn and […]

A Statement from journalists, activists and academics in India, available on www.kafila. org, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission This statement is being posted with the hundred-plus signatures received between 1 pm and 8 pm today. Please endorse in the comments section if you wish to do so. We, the undersigned journalists, activists and academics, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been actively following the case of disappearance of human rights defender Ehsan Arjumandi, a dual national of Norway and Iran, who has been missing since August 2009. For the past seven years, after he was picked up by the Pakistani security agencies, the whereabouts of Mr. Ehsan are […]

By Nasurullah Baloch, Chairman, Voice of Baloch Missing Persons In 2010, a Commission was founded by the Pakistan Government to probe the missing persons’ cases and trace those still missing and unaccounted for. On 16 July 2016, this Commission presented its report to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Then, the head of the body, (retired) […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where the debate on the death sentence is heating up after executed Freddy Budiman’s message shocked the country. Before his July 29 execution, the drug kingpin broadcasted a message that he had cooperation from the police and the National Narcotic Board for smuggling drugs to Indonesia. Calls are […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely dismayed by President Joko Widodo’s decision to continue the execution of death row inmates. Prior to the July 29 executions, the AHRC issued an open letter urging the President to stop the third execution, to no avail. President Widodo’s administration has so far executed 19 death row inmates, most […]

Thailand acceded to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) on 2 October 2007. Nearly ten years later, on 26 May 2016, the Thai government issued a Cabinet Resolution stating that it will pass a Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act. However, the Asian Human Rights Commission […]

Professor K G Sankara Pillai – is a well-known Indian poet, philosopher and author. He came into prominence in the 1970s with the publication of the poem “Bengal” and is now one of the most popular among the modernist poets of Kerala. A recipient of the state and central Sahitya Akademi Awards (state and central […]

Avinash Pandey Delhi, the national capital of India, has witnessed another gory incident involving the rape-murder of a minor. This time, a 16-year-old was allegedly raped, strangled, and then set on fire in her own house in East Delhi. The police reportedly tried to pass off the crime as suicide, filing a case of rape and […]

Notorious for its enactment of arbitrary laws such as the Hudood ordinance, Blasphemy laws and the Protection of Pakistan Act, the Pakistan government has now added the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2015 to the increasing list of laws infringing upon citizens’ fundamental freedoms. The bill has been approved by both the houses and sent […]

This week’s episode begins with the surprising decision of Indian activist Irom Sharmila to end her 16-year fast, and join politics. Sharmila, known as Manipur’s ‘Iron Lady’, has been spearheading the state’s struggle to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Just Asia caught up with Babloo Loitongbam, Director of Human Rights Alert and long […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely dismayed by President Joko Widodo’s decision to appoint retired Army General Wiranto as a Cabinet Minister of Politics, Law and Security (Menkopolhukam). An individual with such a dubious human rights record should be prosecuted for his actions, rather than given a seat in government. According to the […]

A fact-finding team of the Dalit Civil Society has concluded that Ajit Mijar, found dead at Kumpur – 3 in Dhading District, did not die as a result of suicide. His was, rather, a staged murder. They have made this declaration in a report, based on the facts and findings collected during their three-day visit […]

By Phattranit Yaodam and Samira Saran August 7, 2016 is scheduled for the constitutional referendum by the Thai Military government and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the junta-ruling body. It is during times of political change that the right to freedom of expression is most essential, ensuring that a well-informed and empowered […]